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Editorial - Louder than words

It appears St. Maarten and the Dutch Government are heading for a showdown again, judging from statements by Justice Minister Dennis Richardson in today's paper. This time it regards what he called a "draconic" proposal for an Integrity Chamber.

The Hague apparently is not satisfied with the current local plans that call for one representative of the Netherlands in the three-member chamber as well as one in the Progress Committee that is to monitor the integrity improvement course. Instead, the intention is reportedly for Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to appoint the Integrity Chamber's chairperson and his cabinet a second member, leaving St Read more

Gumbs: Screening of ministers under Wescot-Williams’ watch

PHILIPSBURG--Minister-candidates who are now ministers in the Gumbs Cabinet were screened during the tenure of now-former Prime Minister/General Affairs Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, said Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs in response to questions posed by the same Wescot-Williams, now a Member of Parliament, about the screening and the involvement of the Dutch Secret Service in the process.

Wescot-Williams sent her questions about the screening to Gumbs on January 13 via Parliament Chairman Dr Read more

PM submits declarations of assets to Advisory Council

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has submitted to the Advisory Council his declarations and notifications of assets, holdings, secondary positions and interests, those of the other five new ministers and of ministers who served in the Wescot-Williams III Cabinet.

The submission is in accordance with the National Ordinance Promotion of the Integrity of Ministers.

The declarations were submitted on Friday, three days before the stipulated 30-day deadline for submission by new ministers and persons who have ceased to be ministers.

The submission to the Advisory Council followed a similar submission to the Electoral Council that was tied to the National Ordinance Registration and Finances of Political Parties Read more

Camelia-Römer substitute for law review committee

WILLEMSTAD/PHILIPSBURG--Former Netherlands Antilles Prime Minister Suzy Camelia-Römer has been nominated as a substitute member for St. Maarten on the Committee for Evaluation of the Kingdom Laws. She will deputize for committee member Judge Jacob "Bob" Wit.

The office of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs confirmed on Sunday evening that Camelia-Römer has been approached to substitute for Wit.

The committee will evaluate four consensus kingdom laws covering the police, the Prosecutor's Office, the Joint Court of Justice and the Council for Law Enforcement Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Marcel Gumbs welcomed Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk to St. Maarten on Sunday afternoon. Minister Plasterk is on a working visit to St. Maarten, Saba and Statia from January 18 until January 21. On Monday morning he will meet in a formal session with Prime Minister Gumbs Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has submitted to the Council of Advice the written declarations and notifications (assets/holdings, secondary positions/interests) of the new Ministers as well as those of the Ministers of the former cabinet in accordance with the National Ordinance Promotion of the Integrity of Ministers (Landsverordening Integriteitbevordering Ministers).

The declarations were submitted on Friday, January 16, three days before the legally stipulated deadline of 30 from when the Ministers were sworn in and accepted the appointment as a minister and within 30 days of the date on which the former Ministers ceases to be a Minister Read more

PM Gumbs responds to Wescot-Williams on Dutch Secret Service.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister the Hon. Marcel Gumbs has responded, via official letter, to the questions by Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams as submitted to the Chairman of Parliament via letter dated January 13, 2015 Read more

Minister Fleming-Artsen Meets With Dutch Minister Plasterk. Discusses Relations And Improved Communications

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Minister Plenipotentiary Hon. Josianne Fleming-Artsen recently met with Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Hon. Ronald Plasterk.

The meeting which took place at the Dutch Ministry for Interior and Kingdom Relations in The Hague, covered how the Kingdom partners can work better together and how relations can be strengthened.

The issue of "instructions" by the Kingdom Council of Ministers was also discussed and information was shared with respect to the basis of developing such for a particular country within the Kingdom.

One of the conclusions coming out of the meeting is to have quarterly sessions every two or three months between Minister Plenipotentiary and the Dutch Minister of Interior and Kingdom Relations.

Minister Plasterk also discussed his working visit to Sint Maarten and how he was looking forward to meeting the new Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Hon Read more

Dutch Minister Welcomed To St. Maarten By Pm Gumbs Sunday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Marcel Gumbs welcomed Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk to St. Maarten on Sunday afternoon.

Minister Plasterk is on a working visit to St. Maarten, Saba and Statia from January 18 until January 21.

On Monday morning he will meet in a formal session with Prime Minister Gumbs.

Minister Plasterk will also meet with His Excellency the Governor Eugene Holiday, Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson, Minister of Finance Martin Hassink and with the Parliament of St Read more

Sarah still awaits answers about housing foundation

PHILIPSBURG--It has been a month and Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams is still waiting on answers from government, in particular Public Housing Minister Marcel Gumbs, to her questions about whether St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister, The Hon. Marcel Gumbs, officially introduced himself and members of the Council of Ministers to members of the Supervisory Board of Directors and Management of the Sint Maarten Telecommunication Holding Company N.V. (SMTHC) for the company's Annual General Shareholder's meeting in the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall, Thursday.
In attendance along with the Prime Minister were, Minister of Education, Sport and Culture, the Hon Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Leader of the government coalition, MP Theo Heyliger is expecting the people of St. Maarten to believe that he has no and will not get any previous knowledge of the budget which has been sent to the Governor and is well on its way to Parliament. Really?
This revelation by MP Heyliger comes after repeated calls by his Minister of Finance for a dividend policy to level the playing field for all government-owned companies.
And it comes after severe criticism from the CFT and from several integrity reports about the contribution of government-owned companies to the country's coffers.
Not only that, but most of these organizations have also criticized the involvement of politicians(!) in these companies' policies and programs Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- On December 16th, 2014 I sent the minister of VROMI via the chairman of Parliament, 5 questions regarding the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation, due to the public uproar regarding this institution, the allegations, the threats etc.
My questions were straightforward. I did not ask for books, I did not ask for financials or incorporation articles.
The Prime Minister, Honorable Marcel Gumbs subsequently dutifully presented himself to Parliament, also acting as minister of VROMI and boasted of this record, having done so within 72 hours of his installation.
Again I repeated the same basic questions, most of which could be answered with a yes or no Read more

Theo: Govt must be willing to get concession fees from companies

PHILIPSBURG--Government must show explicit willingness to demand concession fees from all government-owned companies capable of paying the fee and not allow some companies to get away scot-free while others pay year after year, says United People's (UP) party leader Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger.

The concession fees must be collected by government and used the balance the budget, instead of excessive budget-cutting that "can affect the rendering of needed services to the people." The concession fees can aid in the balancing the budget without the need "to trouble the pockets of the people."

There is "no viable reason" why a company like SXM Princess Juliana International Airport "should not pay government a concession fee," Heyliger told The Daily Herald on Thursday.

United Telecommunication Services (UTS), of which St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- President Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson on Wednesday morning met with Prime Minister Hon. Marcel Gumbs to discuss a number of matters.
Richardson and Gumbs have decided to meet on a quarterly basis to keep each other abreast on matters of mutual interests.
President Richardson was informed that the national 2015 budget has been forwarded to His Excellency Governor Eugene Holiday who will send it to Parliament within short Read more

President Richardson Meets With Prime Minister Gumbs

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – President Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson on Wednesday morning met with Prime Minister Hon. Marcel Gumbs to discuss a number of matters.

Richardson and Gumbs have decided to meet on a quarterly basis to keep each other abreast on matters of mutual interests.

President Richardson was informed that the national 2015 budget has been forwarded to His Excellency Governor Eugene Holiday who will send it to Parliament within short Read more

Prime Ministers Asjes (Curacao) And Gumbs (St. Maarten) Strengthen Ties

Ivar Asjes (l) presents a book to Marcel Gumbs entitled “Curacao: Religions, Rituals and Traditions.” Photo cabinet Prime Minister

St. Maarten – Prime Ministers Marcel Gumbs and Ivar Asjes both dubbed the latter’s visit as important in establishing a basis for continued good relations between the two countries.

PM Asjes met yesterday with Governor Eugène Holiday, President of Parliament Dr Read more

Budget sent to Governor

PHILIPSBURG--The draft 2015 budget is a step closer to Parliament. The budget, with remarks from the Advisory Council, has been submitted to Governor Eugene Holiday by the Gumbs Cabinet.

The budget was top priority for the cabinet of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. That cabinet was sworn in by Governor Holiday on December 19, 2014, and faces an extended deadline from the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT Read more

Sarah questions Dutch Secret Service role in cabinet screening

PHILIPSBURG--The exact role the Dutch Secret Service played in the screening of minister candidates for the Gumbs Cabinet is questioned by Democratic Party (DP) Leader Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams in a letter sent this week to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs.

She seeks answers to the Dutch Secret Service's role in the screening, whether theirs was a one-time involvement, or will this continue for subsequent cabinets and how the service's role is "formalized nationally."

Her request to the prime minister for answers "has nothing to do" with the persons who were subjected to the screening process, but are directed to "the process" used to screen them.

Dutch Minister for Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations Roland Plasterk was quoted by the media as saying that ministers sworn-in on December 19, 2014, were "subjected with the assistance of employees of the Dutch secret service to an extra-severe screening."

Wescot-Williams framed her questions to the prime minister based on Plasterk's statement and St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the Democratic Party and Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams has sent a letter to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs asking for an explanation on the screening of Ministers that were installed on December 19th, 2014 Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The 2015 National Budget has been submitted to his Excellency the Governor of St. Maarten Eugene Holiday on Wednesday, January 14 to be sent on the Parliament. The Submitted version includes the supplementary report on the remarks from the Council of Advice.
Prime Minister the Honorable Marcel Gumbs is cognizant of the importance of a national budget for St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The National Alliance said on Wednesday afternoon that Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs is clearly not in control of his cabinet, at the least, not as far as how to deal with Parliament.
During his first visit to Parliament the honorable Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said that one thing he had learnt during his term as a State Secretary in the Government of the Netherlands Antilles was, that when a Minister or State Secretary is called to Parliament, you drop everything and appear before Parliament.
He said that because of this experience he had made sure to be in Parliament, even though he had just been sworn in a few days before.
Either the Prime Minister has not been able to convince certain Ministers or he had not yet discussed this with them.
The faction of the National Alliance said that a Central Committee meeting had been convened with Minister of Finance Martin Hassink on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarterly reports Read more

Mp Wescot-Williams Seeks Information Of Closure Of Screening Process For Ministers

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The leader of the Democratic Party, MP the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams Wednesday expressed concern with what she believes is the none transparent manner in which the screening process conducted by the Governor of St Read more

Na Calls On Finance Minister To Respect Parliament And Attend Meetings

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The National Alliance said on Wednesday afternoon that Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs is clearly not in control of his cabinet, at the least, not as far as how to deal with Parliament.

During his first visit to Parliament the honorable Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs said that one thing he had learnt during his term as a State Secretary in the Government of the Netherlands Antilles was, that when a Minister or State Secretary is called to Parliament, you drop everything and appear before Parliament.

He said that because of this experience he had made sure to be in Parliament, even though he had just been sworn in a few days before Read more